This looks pretty cool shall be interesting to see how it pans out as a turn based game, just out of curiosity whats with the additional points given out during the skill roll? also future reference perhaps use the edit feature rather than creating a new post ;P

Originally Posted by Junes
This looks pretty cool shall be interesting to see how it pans out as a turn based game, just out of curiosity whats with the additional points given out during the skill roll? also future reference perhaps use the edit feature rather than creating a new post ;P

Next video will feature turn-based combat - looking to get this out by Monday night.

Because the character is a Rogue, their starting skill points are (8 + INT modifier) x 4.

Originally Posted by Couchpotato
Finally had a look at your game JMab. Gotta say you have my interest. Would you be interested in me posting about your game on the front page?

Hi Couchpotato, sure would love it if you could. I'm posting around the interwebs a bit at the moment to raise the profile of the game. At the moment, it's for the added motivation when I hear people are interested! I'm finding that promising videos demonstrating new features is a strong motivating factor to keep working hard.

Looking ahead a bit, I'd like to drum up some votes for Steam Greenlight - makes no sense not to try in the future, right?

I'm available to supply whatever info you'd like to know about Subterranea…

Will Subterranea be on Steam Greenlight?
Yes – Steam Greenlight is a no-brainer. For a bit of effort in setting up a campaign page and video, you get the opportunity to distribute on the world’s biggest Windows, Mac and Linux game distribution platform, and all it will cost Subterranea backers is a click of a button. So yes, we’ll be on Steam Greenlight by the end of February, 2014.

If it’s green-lit, will Subterranea be available on Steam Early Access?
Almost certainly. It’s very tempting as a small indie developer to get access to loads of alpha and beta testers, testing the game on a variety of OS and hardware configurations. This needs to be balanced by ensuring any bugs found are fixed promptly by us and puzzle/plot content is not revealed too early to future players outside of the Early Access program.

What about crowdfunding (e.g. Kickstarter)?
Most likely. Incorporating fees, it will cost an additional $2K to finish Subterranea. That will introduce deferred rendering (many more lights and realtime shadows – essential for megadungeons), nice effects like depth-of-field, realistic water (the game is partially set in a swamp after all), and other things that range between necessity and nice-to-have. An additional $2-4K would bring enhanced animations, better 2D/3D art and custom music. So a crowdfunding target would be reasonably modest, however we’re not planning on creating a crowdfunding campaign before all gameplay systems are finished and a good chunk of the content is complete, which is looking like mid-2014.

Originally Posted by Pongo
Looks really promising. Loved the bit where the bridge fell in - its like a turn based NWN with destructable environments… which frankly sounds ace.

Thanks Pongo. I played some NWN and enjoyed it somewhat, though there was something indefinable lacking. I missed out on NWN2, though I hear Mask of the Betrayer was excellent. I probably should pick up NWN2: MOB to leverage some good ideas!

My original goal for Subterranea was to take a game concept similar to the ancient Pool of Radiance into a modern engine, and also add a lot more that you've previously only found in pen and paper RPGs, rather than CRPGs. Like destroying environments, emergent gameplay from physics, non-combat solutions like feigning death, environment puzzles like abseiling, etc. Turn-based combat with a huge amount of depth will still be the focus, however I think there's more CRPGs can do to get closer to the PnP experience…

If in-depth tactical combat is implemented well, positioning is critical. And when positioning is critical, getting your party formation right is the first thing you need to do. Given the importance of getting the party formation right in Subterranea, I’ve implemented a flexible Party Formation window to allow you to position your characters exactly where you want them:

You can drag your party portraits exactly where you want them to be in formation, and when you click to set your destination, they will form up around the spot represented by the multi-arrow icon in the center. Want your Barbarian to be half a step behind your Fighter? Done. Want your Wizard to be 12 diagonal feet from your Rogue? No problem.

Here’s a shot of a 6 character party moving in the formation set by dragging the portraits around in the Party Formation window above:

Really liking what I'm seeing here and think I will most likely back a crowdfunding campaign.

Just wondering, will there be much interaction with NPCs in Subterranea? That is, will there be some dialogue choices to make and ample opportunities to use skills such as diplomacy, bluff, etc.? From the character generation video it appears that you've implemented many of the skills in OGL; even including some which weren't included in ToEE or NWN games. I'm just hoping they all will have their fair share of uses… (As I'm sure we've all had the unfortunate experience playing cRPGs, where certain skills / spells have limited use where others are must-haves).

Originally Posted by daveyd
Really liking what I'm seeing here and think I will most likely back a crowdfunding campaign.

Just wondering, will there be much interaction with NPCs in Subterranea? That is, will there be some dialogue choices to make and ample opportunities to use skills such as diplomacy, bluff, etc.? From the character generation video it appears that you've implemented many of the skills in OGL; even including some which weren't included in ToEE or NWN games. I'm just hoping they all will have their fair share of uses… (As I'm sure we've all had the unfortunate experience playing cRPGs, where certain skills / spells have limited use where others are must-haves).

Hi daveyd. Yes, NPC interaction will be a big focus. The story of the game:

is full of intrigue. There is a lord in town whose actions have historically brought much prosperity to the residents, but remains fairly aloof. There are merchant-lords who have formed a cabal and for all intents and purposes run the town. They have their own, unique, sometimes competing, agendas. And there are other adventuring parties that have answered the call that you may need to deal with, one way or another.

Also underground, not all subterranean civilizations are mindless evil minions…

All of these protagonists will have deep, branching dialogue options with choice and consequence.

In fact, I just got a copy of this branching dialogue plugin for Unity to support this, yesterday:

I'm well aware that every skill should have its fair share of uses - nothing worse than picking skills you want to use in the character creation process and then finding that the developers haven't bothered to let you use them much, or at all, in-game! One of the design principles of Subterranea is to introduce as many pen and paper activities roleplaying activities as I can into a CRPG, so the dialogue skills will be important, as well as non-combat actions like feigning death, appraising, distracting monsters, negotiating difficult environmental challenges, etc. All stuff that a live DM can incorporate easily. Important for a CRPG, so even though turn-based combat remains the focus, there is a lot of fun to be had in other activities.

One of the advantages of implementing the Open Game Content via the Open Gaming License is that I spend zero time on designing a ruleset, playtesting it and balancing it. It's already been playtested and balanced by the massive D&D machine. So I can concentrate on the graphical and physical presentation of Subterranea, as well as ensuring that there is enough content to satisfy the depth of the character creation process, like in areas of skill usage…

@JMab Thank you for the response. Definitely sounds like this will have pretty much everything I've been looking for in a new CRPG. Consider me a very likely backer if you take this game to Kickstarter.